Hospital banned from training new student midwives

A hospital where 10 women died giving birth has been banned from training new student midwives, it emerged today.

The Healthcare Commission was last year called in to investigate maternity services at Northwick Park hospital in north-west London amid concerns over a number of deaths.

An outside team of doctors and midwives was also sent into the unit to help improve the situation and the hospital was placed under special measures.

Now a report by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) has withdrawn approval for new student midwives to be taken on by the trust, although the 35 trainees currently there will be allowed to continue.

In the past three years 10 women have died at the hospital, which sees around 5,000 births a year. In the UK an average of about one mother in 8,700 dies in childbirth.

A team from the NMC visited the hospital in July to assess the suitability of the learning environment in the maternity department.

They will visit again in May to make sure their recommendations have been satisfied before new student midwives are allowed to return for training.

Christina McKenzie, the NMC's head of midwifery, said: "The NMC recognises that a lot of work has been done by the trust and that staff and existing students were positive about the Healthcare Commission investigation and resulting special measures.

"Under the circumstances, however, the NMC will have to conduct a further visit before we can be reassured that the learning environment at the trust is appropriate for more student midwives.

"This visit will be planned to take place several months after the special measures have been removed as this will enable the NMC to assess whether improvements have been sustained."

In a statement North West London Hospitals NHS trust said it was pleased that midwives currently in training would continue at the trust, but regretted that further trainees may not return until after the NMC's second visit.

The trust said that since the NMC's visit a further 15 staff had joined, making a total of 122 midwifery staff.

The statement said: "The NMC were concerned that trainee midwives who work in the trust do not get sufficient exposure to normal low-risk births.

"This needs to be understood in the context of the health needs of the local population that use our maternity services.

"However, we are creating more opportunities for students to learn about normal births through the opening of an integrated midwife-led birth centre at Northwick Park and appointing an additional consultant midwife to focus on this area and who will be involved in training."